Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen

Description

Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, called “the most famous undocumented immigrant in America,” tackles one of the defining issues of our time in this explosive and deeply personal call to arms. “This is not a book about the politics of immigration. This book––at its core––is not about immigration at all. This book is about homelessness, not in a traditional sense, but in the unsettled, unmoored psychological state that undocumented immigrants like myself find ourselves in. This book is about lying and being forced to lie to get by; about passing as an American and as a contributing citizen; about families, keeping them together, and having to make new ones when you can’t. This book is about constantly hiding from the government and, in the process, hiding from ourselves. This book is about what it means to not have a home. After 25 years of living illegally in a country that does not consider me one of its own, this book is the closest thing I have to freedom.” —Jose Antonio Vargas, from Dear America “This riveting, courageous memoir ought to be mandatory reading for every American.” —Michelle Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of The New Jim Crow “l cried reading this book, realizing more fully what my parents endured.” —Amy Tan, New York Times bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club and Where the Past Begins “This book couldn’t be more timely and more necessary.” —Dave Eggers, New York Times bestselling author of What Is the What and The Monk of Mokha Title Page......Page 4 Dedication......Page 5 Epigraph......Page 6 Prologue......Page 9 Note to Readers......Page 11 Part I: Lying......Page 12 1: Gamblers......Page 13 2: The Wrong Country......Page 15 3: Crittenden Middle School......Page 18 4: Not Black, Not White......Page 21 5: Filipinos......Page 24 6: Mexican José and Filipino Jose......Page 29 7: Fake......Page 31 8: Coming Out......Page 35 Part II: Passing......Page 38 1: Playing a Role......Page 39 2: Mountain View High School......Page 45 3: An Adopted Family......Page 49 4: Breaking the Law......Page 52 5: The Master Narrative......Page 55 6: Ambition......Page 59 7: White People......Page 62 8: The Washington Post......Page 64 9: Strangers......Page 67 10: Bylines......Page 68 11: Campaign 2008......Page 72 12: Purgatory......Page 74 13: Thirty......Page 75 14: Facing Myself......Page 78 15: Lawyers......Page 80 16: Second Coming Out......Page 81 17: Outlaw......Page 83 18: Who Am I?......Page 92 19: Inside Fox News......Page 99 20: Public Person, Private Self......Page 103 21: Progress......Page 109 Part III: Hiding......Page 115 1: My Government, Myself......Page 116 2: Home......Page 120 3: Distant Intimacy......Page 122 4: Leaving......Page 125 5: Staying......Page 128 6: Detained......Page 130 7: The Machine......Page 133 8: National Security Threat......Page 137 9: Alone......Page 141 10: Interview......Page 143 11: Cycle of Loss......Page 145 12: Truth......Page 147 Acknowledgments......Page 148 About the Author......Page 150 Copyright......Page 152 About the Publisher......Page 153